Hi,
I can conducting some research for a report on succession planning, focusing on tips/ideas for making succession planning successful and the benefits for the business and employee.
I have so far found a lot of useful sources of information on the internet but would be really interested to hear from anyone in the L&D community who has any experience of succession planning and could help me with the above?
It would also be great if you could let me know how you measured any benefits that were seen?
Thanks in advance for your help
Kim
Replies
Hi Kim,
We haven't really got a succession plan in place for our senior leaders- and with a number of them coming towards the end of their careers it is an area that is now being looked at. We have run some 'development days' for staff, which identifies their skills and areas for development and then focussed on upskilling them. This has gone down well, but where messages have not been communicated properly there has been an expectation that staff who attend are automatically guaranteed a promotion, salary increase or both. When this hasn't happened there has been unhappiness and dissatisfaction. Therefore the company has moved away from doing anything further (although there is a more holistic development programme coming starting now). We have a flat structure, so even with development there is often nowhere for a manager to go.
So I guess, as in anything, clear communication is the key. Clear expectations and an understanding of the pathways open to those who attend is vital.
We have also come up against the issue of 'favourites', where senior managers want a person to take on a role and some staff thinking that the next role up is there's 'by right' due to their length of service, rather than if they have the skills etc for the role.
These are just some initial thoughts, and it is a project that will come my way in the next couple of years, so would be interested to see your conclusions.
Thanks,
Tristan
This is a great question Kim and I hope one that develops into a deeper community conversation. Much for all to discuss on this I think.
The benefits are huge both for the business and the employee. I'd imagine you've thought of several already and would be interested to hear how far you've got with that.
Jumping into mind for me, with my L&D hat on, are the skills, knowledge and behaviours that sit underneath succession planning. Looking at the role(s) you consider need a pipeline of talent and succession plan and the potential candidates that could be in that pipeline, there's some work perhaps on understanding those two groups down to an individual level. The gap between those competencies now and those that may be desired to be a successor in a particular role will gives clues as to the development needs and therefore plan that may need to exist.
Is there anything that's been done or could be done, to assess where the competencies of those potential rising stars lie?